Flygrip a bit pricey for you? Here are three alternatives that won’t break the bank

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, smartphones are getting bigger and bigger and the ultimate one-handed operation device is slowly fading away. The need for something to assist with not dropping your rather expensive investment is on the rise. In stepped Flygrip, the small and popular solution for all things large. Flygrip allows seamless one-handed operation without the fear of dropping your phone or tablet. However, there’s the small little matter of price which doesn’t happen to be small at all. The popular mini mechanism will run you a whopping $29.95 ea. That’s a bit steep if you ask me. $19.99 seems a little more reasonable but the folks over at the Flygrip team may not share my opinion. So, coveting the functionality I began to look for alternatives that wouldn’t break the bank for techs on a dime. Surprisingly, there’s quite a few options for you if you’re interested. We’ve covered three that caught our attention for style, ease of use and of course its cheap price tag.

WiseFinger

In my search, I came across this little guy dubbed the “WiseFinger” by a company called SmartX. It’s simple yet effective and may even sit flatter against the device than the Flygrip model does. It has all of the same functionality when outside of your grip such as allowing you to place the device in both portrait and landscape on a flat surface for optimal viewing. The dual ring action rotates to take the shape of your liking to fit nicely on any flat surface. This device ranges from $11-$12 dollars on Amazon and comes in quite a few different colors to mix and match with your smartphone.

Bunker Ring, to me, seems a little less intrusive on the backside of your device as well. As opposed to the dual finger action offered by WiseFinger, Bunker Ring offers a smaller single fingered ring which also swivels 360 degrees to meet the necessity of portrait or landscape viewing. And like WiseFinger, it too will not burn a hole in your wallet. Available colors are black, white and pink. There’s been a few iterations of the model but they all pretty much work the same. The only exception is that the ring got thinner for less added bulk. Overall, it’s a great piece and can be easily added or removed from the back of any smartphone with ease. As far as pricing goes, we’ve seen this thing run as low as a buck on Amazon, believe it or not.

Last but not least, a cool contemporary looking design which surprisingly doesn’t really have a name. I came across it looking for alternatives to Flygrip but have yet to discover its manufacturer. Nevertheless, it’s pretty cool and looks great on any device. It has a modern gear like look to it and also can seamlessly be added and removed from a smartphone without marking your device up. You can search for it online using the phrase “Rotating Two Finger Phone Grip” and goes on Amazon for a mere $7 not including shipping. You can’t beat the price for the functionality that’s for sure. And in my opinion it’s the better of the three as far as design and style goes.

Bottom line is, there are plenty of alternatives for those looking to gain Flygrip’s functionality, you just need to know where to look. I personally have a Galaxy Note II and look forward to picking one of these up to alleviate the constant fear of dropping it when trying to use the device one-handed. What do you think of the up and coming new way to hold your smartphone? Great idea or added bulk? Feel free to drop a comment or two below and let us know what you think.

Joe was born in New Jersey and spent most of his childhood moving around from state to state. He eventually made his way to Pennsylvania where he met his Portuguese beauty and made her his wife. He now has three great kids and full access to all of the Portuguese food he can eat. Joe's love for mobile technology began when he bought his first Palm Pilot, a Palm M130 and left it on top of his car, driving off, causing it to smash into a thousand pieces. Forced to buy a new device, he quickly discovered that specs were changing so rapidly he was buying a new device every six months just to keep up. Since then, he has constantly felt the need to have the latest and greatest. When the "smartphone" revolution began and integrating cell phones and PDA's was the norm, he quickly jumped to Windows Mobile for several years until the first Android device was launched, the T-Mobile G1. Joe began appreciating all of the free utilities Google provided and sold his soul (his precious data) to Google long before they got into the mobile OS business. So, there was no hesitation at all for him to jump on board and ride the Android train as an early adopter. And boy has it been a blast. Joe now works in the Engineering & Operations dept for a major mobile carrier where he remotely troubleshoots cell sites and loves being an Editor for TalkAndroid.

Jim h

I tried 3 out of the 4 devices you mentioned, Flygrip was the only one that gave the thumb the extra reach needed to properly hit all parts of the screen plus was able to get the phone into my hand from my pocket using the same hand.. Meaning no other hand needed. It is pricey did work the way I needed. Made in USA too.

Sean

Compare apples to apples. Flygrip comes with 1 year warranty and comes with a free case for practically every smartphone. They also donate portion to charity.

Andy J

I had 3 happy months using a Flygrip – until it broke. There’s a really small plastic nub that acts as a catch to hold it closed, and that’s what broke off. Now it wont stay closed at all and presents a problem placing into and taking it out of my pocket. I was excited to see some lower-cost alternatives. Just ordered a Bunker Ring.

http://profiles.google.com/mtran2988 Michael Tran

If you message flygrip, they’ll send you out one for free. They are suppose to back their products no matter what

Filip385

ThingSling or nowadays called SlingGrip… super slim, durable, practical and made in USA :-) love it!

http://www.jdkram.net/ jdkram

Hi Joe, did you purchase one of these in the end? Any follow up thoughts?

OKAYAMA

BUNKER RING is well known in Japan. Really good.

Nevada Johnson

By The Shore Computer Repair in Bonita Springs, Florida sells the Metal 2 Ring holders for cheap. They are awesome and never break. I purchased several for my kids and extended family. Got tired of the cell phone, tablet & ipod DROPS! No More Drops with the mobile holders…www.bytheshorecomputerrepair.org

Scott Paul Technologies

CellHandle has been knocked off from its debut at the CES in New York, 2010.
CellHandle does it all, its adjustable, rotates, removable, comfortable all day long.
The other knock offs are uncomfortable, do not rotate, do not adust and do not remove from the phone. The Chinese are still stealing the CellHandle and violation our copyrights and trademark on the CellHandle. Proudly Made in The USA.

asdf

Right Mister owner of Scott Paul Tech, who just so happens to be the maker of Cell Handle.

Mike

Awesome article, thought I might suggest taking a look at a new kind of phone stand that I just launched called Knuckies. They let you stand, grip and spin the living pixels out of your phone. They are made from solid 3D printed nylon, spin with the power of a skateboard bearing and come with four industrial strength 3M adhesives. Sorry about the photos, I am and Android fan, the light iphone color just worked well with all of the colors! :)

Kount Techula

Yes thanks, you too! Oh and I found the name…It’s called “goStrap”. I use it on both my e-reader and my phone. It definitely has stopped the dropping problem but probably just as importantly, it has given me back the use of my hand!!! They have a website but you can also get them at The Container Store. Hope this helps and best of luck!

jalabi

Is it just me or do some of these product’s names sound like kung-fu moves? “Master master, please teach me kung-fu!” “Well, grasshopper, you must learn Rotating Two Finger!”